Russian President Dimitry Medvedev instructed the Russian Defense Minister to prepare a plan within the next month for the development of the Russian Black Sea Fleet base in Ukraine's Sevastopol.
"Prepare a suitable plan for the development of the Black sea Fleet naval base in Sevastopol with other government bodies within a month and submit it for my approval," Medvedev said at a meeting with Anatoliy Serdyukov on Saturday.
Russia's lease of the base in Sevastopol was extended for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017 in a deal simultaneously ratified by the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments on Tuesday. The lease may be further extended by five years.
Medvedev said the draft should improve living conditions for the Navy officers living on the base.
"It is very important that our Navy officers live in modern, high-quality, human conditions, and get the chance to relax and make use of other facilities, that should be provided on the base," Medvedev said.
He said it was important that agreements made with the Ukrainian side and with the town of Sevastopol be taken into account in the plan. It has been agreed that the base will provide social-economic support to a number of programs in Sevastopol.
"That town is certainly not extraneous to us and we need to think about how we can contribute to those programs through other authorities and business structures," Medvedev said.
BOCHAROV RUCHEI (SOCHI), May 1 (RIA Novosti)
